HM Blog - Tuesday 19 October 2022

Welcome to the last blog of Term 1.  It does not seem we have been at school for seven weeks.  The term has been a good one, and one where we have seen a number of success stories that have been worthy of acknowledging.  Only on Saturday were we able to welcome many parents and visitors on site to enjoy the annual rugby fixture against Cranbrook School.  With it being the last game before the half term we made it more of an event, offering refreshments and conversation after the games.  A huge thank you to the players, staff, parents, and Old Maidstonians who made it an enjoyable morning.

As well as acknowledging the rugby at the weekend, I also wish to thank the performers, staff and parents who supported the Autumn Showcase last week.  It was an evening full of high quality talent with students eager to shine in front of their peers and their families.  Well done to everyone, and thank you to Mrs Brooks, Mrs Edwards and Mr Bourne for hosting.

Today we again open our doors to the wider community and welcome families of prospective students to see the school at work at our Year 6 Open Morning.  Last Friday, at our first open morning, we were incredibly busy, so I am sure today will be no different.  The week of open events culminates on Thursday when we welcome everyone in again at our Year 6 Open Evening.  At that event the entire school will be open to walk around, see the many exhibitions that we put on, as well as hearing from me and our school captain about what life is like at MGS.  As always, the people who sell MGS are the students.  They are a credit to their school as well as to themselves, and are our ambassadors.  Thank you to everyone who will be helping.

Tuesday 11 October 2022

This week we begin the process of looking forward to September 2023 and welcoming perspective year 6 boys and their parents to our first Year 6 Open Morning.  On Friday, we open our doors to those families wishing to consider MGS as a viable choice for next year, and helping at that event will be the current Year 7 who are best placed to talk about the School and what it is like being a Maidstonian.  We look forward to welcoming everyone then.

At the weekend, we enjoyed a glorious day of sunshine watching our rugby squads compete against Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, Rochester.  Once again, the results across the squads were mixed, but the senior 1^st XV squad led by example bringing home a win 22 – 5.  Well done to the players and thank you to the members of staff and volunteers who continue to support the players not only on match days, but also throughout each week at training.

Today we wish good luck to a number of Maidstonians who are taking part in the first round of the National Cross Country Competition.  If you recall, last year we had three Maidstonians progress to the final of the competition, which took place in Devon.  Best wishes to them all.

And, on Thursday we look forward to the first performing arts showcase of the year.  Our budding musicians and actors will be performing at the Autumn Showcase: an event that celebrates the talents of a number of Maidstonians.  Included in the showcase will be: Pirates of the Caribbean from the MGS Concert Band, Gabriel’s Oboe from the MGS Strings, Seize The Day from the MGS Singers and Blinding Lights from the MGS Big Band. Do come along; the showcase begins at 6.30pm in the Big Hall.

Tuesday 4 October 2022

I cannot believe we are already in October.  This is the time of year when some of us start to put the heating on!

Last Friday we all enjoyed our first non-uniform day to acknowledge MacMillan Coffee Morning.  Staff, students, parents and friends of MGS came together to enjoy a cuppa and a slice of cake.  It was a wonderful day and one that illustrated our community spirit.  And at the end of the day we collected £1,857.93 for the charity. Thank you to Mrs Cook for leading the day, and for the prefects for their support.

As well as MacMillan Coffee Morning we also ran a team building day for Year 12.  Students from Year 12 spent the day completing a variety of activities and challenges to further strengthen new friendships and relationships amongst the year group.  I hope the students enjoyed themselves.

Within sport, we saw some upsetting results across both football and rugby last week, but at the same time we saw great team spirit and pride.  Sadly, for Year 10, both our U15 XI and U15 XV teams lost against Oakwood Park Grammar School in football and rugby respectively, and the 1^st XV lost in the National Cup against Skinners’ School 34 - 29.  This last result, even though not in our favour, reflects how close the game was – in fact we were leading at one point 24 – 22.  The players played incredibly well, and was a stark difference to the 60 – 5 loss at the start of the season.  At the weekend rugby fixture against Beths Grammar School, only three squads were playing: the U13A squad sadly lost at home 45 – 25, but the away teams of the U14A and U15A brought back two wins, 65 – 0 and 22 – 5 respectively.

This week we welcome parents of year 7 students to attend their respective Year 7 House Welcome Event.  Tomorrow we welcome parents of Barton and College, and Thursday will be for Corpus Christi and Tonbridge.  The events are designed to give parents a flavour of what their sons have experienced in the first four weeks of the year.